Combined shipping carton and display stand



June 22, 1965 E. F. PARKER 3,190,439

COMBINED SHIPPING CARTON AND DISPLAY STAND Filed May 1, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Edmund E Parker Burg/KM flTTORNEY June 22, 1965 E. F. PARKER 3,190,439

COMBINED SHIPPING CARTON AND DISPLAY STAND Filed May 1, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l I g I l l o INVENTOR. 1 .7 2 EdmundEParker BY fiyim-m fiTTOR/VEY United States Patent Ofiice 3,196,439 Patented June 22, 1965 3,190,439 COMBINED SHIPPING CARTON AND DISPLAY STAND Edmund F. Parker, Bennington, Vt., assignor to The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 1, 1963, Ser. No. 277,230 3 Claims. (Cl. 20645) This invention relates generally to the shipping and displaying of articles of merchandise, and has particular reference to a shipping container which is readily convertible to a display stand especially when employed in conjunction with other containers of like configuration.

In the past it has proven desirable to convert ordinary rectangularly-sha-ped shipping cartons into an attractive I open-top display structure which is stackable with other such cartons so as to conserve space when on display and to render the articles removable therefrom by the ultimate consumer. Prior to the present invention, however, one carton was generally just stacked upon the other thus making difficult the removing of articles of merchandise from the lower. Often, when the articles were so removed from the lower container, the support of the upper container was lost and the structure would generally collapse or fall. In order to alleviate this difficulty in the past, it has been necessary to order a separate display stand thus increasing the relative cost of presenting the articles of merchandise for sale.

It is thus an object of this invention to afford a convenient and efiective means for converting ordinary shipping cartons into attractive display stand structures.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a display stand formed of ordinary shipping cartons which are relatively inexpensively converted to the display stand by the implementation of a pair of wire rods for each pair of cartons.

Another object of thepresent invention is the provision of a display stand constructed of shipping cartons in a stacked relationship such that articles of merchandise can be removed from the lower container easily by the ultimate consumer and without disturbing the support of the upper container.

Briefly then, the present invention comprises the placing of one open-top display container upon another such that the back lower corner of the upper is supported by the back upper corner of the lower. The lower front of the upper container is supported spacedly above the upper front of the lower container and the articles therein by a pair of wire rods extending from the bottom of the lower to the bottom of the upper container.

Yet additional objects .and advantages of the present invention, and its numerous cognate benefits and features, are even more apparent and manifest in and by the ensuing description and specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which, wheresoever possible, like characters of reference designate corresponding material and parts throughout the several views thereof, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of a shipping container employed in the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged front elevational view of a display stand formed from a plurality of such shipping containers;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view thereof;

FIGURE 4 is an isometric view thereof;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a lower front corner of the upper container shown in FIG. 4; and

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a lower front corner of the lower shipping container shown in FIG. 4.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1, shipping container 10 can be economically manufactured from comparably sturdy corrugated cardboard, or the like, and

when employed as a car-ton for shipping has the form of a generally rectangular box including a top wall or cover 12, a front wall 14, opposite side walls 16 and a bottom wall 18.

To convert shipping container 10 into a display stand 20, as later described more fully with respect to FIGS. 24, the container is out along dotted score line 22, the score line 22 being the same on the side 16 not shown in FIG. 1 as that on the side shown, so that a front panel 24, formed from parallel score lines across an intermediate portion of front wall 14, and side wings 26 are removed as scrap material. It is noted that score line 22 meets the top wall 12 of container 10 at approximately the midpoint thereof, from opposite sides 16, thus forming a hinge line 28 upon which upper front corner section 30 may be folded back, as shown in FIGS. 2-4, to provide for an open-top display shelf.

Packed in each container 10 is an elongated L-shaped rigid support rod 32, preferably formed of wire or the like, having a long vertical stern portion 34, and a shorter leg portion 36 extending at generally a right angle from the stem portion. Rods 32 are so constructed that when inserted between the cardboard side layers forming side walls 16 and into the corrugations therebetween which define generally vertical passageways, the lower end of each stem 34 will rest upon the bottom of the lower container 10, i.e. upon bottom wall 18 or inturned flaps (not shown) of each side wall 16 depending on construction, with the upper leg 36 being located between bottom wall 18 and side wall 16 of upper container 10, asillustrated in detail in FIGS. 4 and 6, respectively, the bottom wall 18 merely being adhesively or otherwise secured to the lower ends or flaps of opposite side walls 16 in the preferred embodi ment. The length of stem 34 of rods 32 is such that when so placed the bottom wall 18 of the upper container will be sufliciently spaced above the top front of the lower container that articles of merchandise, such as gift wrap packages 38, can be readily removed from the lower container without disturbing the upper container.

The folded back corner section 30 of the lower container provides support for the lower rear corner of upper container 10, while the comparable section 30 of upper container 10 can provide a shelf area for the displaying of additional articles of merchandise 38.

As one specific but not limiting example of the present invention, a shipping container for 26 inch gift wrap rolls can be described. The container was approximately 26 /2 inches high and had a depth, measured horizontally along a side wall, of approximately 16 inches. The front panel, after the container was incorporated into a display stand, had a height of approximately 9 inches and the space between the top of the gift wrap packages, each having a depth of about 2% inches, and the bottom of another container immediately thereabove was approximately 1% inches, which permitted ready removal of the packages. To accomplish this relationship the stern portion 34 of each rod 32 was approximately 28 inches long, and the leg portion was approximately 1 inch long. The shelf section 30 had a depth of about 8 inches and a height of about 7 /2 inches.

Thus it can be readily seen that to form a display stand 20 out of a plurality of ordinary shipping containers 10 requires, as the only accessory, an L-shaped rod 32 for each of the containers employed, which rod can be packed within each shipping container by a packager before shipment. The necessity for a separate display stand is thus eliminated and articles of merchandise can be readily removed from the stand by the ultimate consumer with relative ease and without disturbing the strength of the stand.

While certain representative embodiments and details have been shown for the purpose of illustrating the in-,9

vention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made there- 7 in without departing from the spirit and scope of the in vention, accordingly, what'is claimedv asinew is: I f

1. A display stand formed at 'least partially of aplural ity of stacked: shipping containers, each of said containers being generallyrectangularly shaped and includingcor rugated side walls with the corrugations defining vertical passageways to a bottom wall of eachsaid container, each said container having said bottom wall secured to lower ing said bottom wall secured to lower ends' of; said. opposite side walls, a front upper corner of each container ends of said opposite sidewalls, a'front upper corner of.

. each container cut away except; along a top portion of each container, said'corner. of each container'being folded back upon said top portion to form a shelf, one ,of said coning folded'back upon saidtop portion to form a shelf,

tainers supporting another container thereabove, a rear.

leg extending from each stern portion and'engaged with.

the bottom wall of said one container, eachsaid stein portion being of sufficient length' was to space the bottom wall of said other container; from'the contents of said one container. 7 v

2. A display standfor'me'd. atleast partially of a plural ity of stacked shipping containers, each of said containers, being, generally rectangularly shaped and including cor- V rugated side walls with'the'corr'ugations defining vertical passageways to a bottom wall of each'said container, each said container having saidlbottorn wall secured to lower ends ,of said opposite side: walls, .a frontupper corner of each'container cut away, except along a top portion of each container, said corner of each containerbeing folded back upon said top portion to form a shelf, one of said containers supporting-another container-thereabove, a rear bottom corner of saidjothercontainer' resting in the shelf of said one: container, at leasta pair of 0 bottom corner of said other container resting in the shelf rigid support rods, astem portion of each rod being en p 7 THERON E; ooNDo Primary Examiner,

gaged in one of said passageways of said one container and restingon the bottom wall thereof, a generally right angularly disposed leg extending from eachcstem portion and engaged between the bottom wall and lower end cut away exceptalong a top portion'of eachcontainer,

said front wall including a cut-out area intermediateits bottom and said corner, said corner of each container beone of said containers supporting another container thereabove, a rear bottom corner of said other container resting in the shelf of said one container, at least a pair of rigid support rods, a stern portion 'of each rod being engaged in one of said passageways of said one container and resting on the bottom wall thereof, a generally right angularly' disposed leg extending from each stern portion and engaged between the bottom wall and lower end of a side wall of said one container, each said stern portionbeing of suflicient length so as to space the bottom wall of" said other container-from the contents of said one'container, saidspace and said area providing for ready removal of the contents of said one container.

References Cited by theExaminer' UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 558,100 4/96 Peterson 206-45 921,694 5/09 Hall 220-97 1,925,102 9/3'3 Levkoff 22944 1,974,552 9/34 Wallba'nk 206+ 5 2,723,026 11/55 Paige 206-45'.12 3,053,397 9/62,, Bliss 220-97 3,095,093 1 6/63 Pelak 220 -97 3,106,332 l, 10/63 Diegu'ez 220-97 ourso. MANCENE, Examiner, 

3. A DISPLAY STAND FORMED AT LEAST PARTIALLY OF A PLURALITY OF STACKED SHIPPING CONTAINERS, EACH OF SAID CONTAINERS BEING GENERALLY RECTANGULARLY SHAPED HAVING FRONT AND REAR WALLS AND INCLUDING CORRUGATED SIDE WALLS WITH THE CORRUGATIONS DEFINING VERTICAL PASSAGEWAYS TO A BOTTOM WALL OF EACH SAID CONTAINER, EACH SAID CONTAINER HAVING SAID BOTTOM WALL SECURED TO LOWER ENDS OF SAID OPPOSITE SIDE WALLS, A FRONT UPPER CORNER OF EACH CONTAINER CUT AWAY EXCEPT ALONG A TOP PORTION OF EACH CONTAINER, SAID FRONT WALL INCLUDING A CUT-OUT AREA INTERMEDIATE ITS BOTTOM AND SAID CORNER, SAID CORNER OF EACH CONTAINER BEING FOLDED BACK UPON SAID TOP PORTION TO FORM A SHELF, ONE OF SAID CONTAINERS SUPPORTING ANOTHER CONTAINER THEREABOVE, A REAR BOTTOM CORNER OF SAID OTHER CONTAINER RESTING IN THE SHELF OF SAID ONE CONTAINER, AT LEAST A PAIR OF RIDGE SUPPORT RODS, A STEM PORTION OF EACH ROD BEING ENGAGED IN ONE OF SAID PASSAGEWAYS OF SAID ONE CONTAINER SAID RESTING ON THE BOTTOM WALL THEREOF, A GENERALLY RIGHT ANGULARLY DISPOSED LEG EXTENING FROM EACH STEM PORTION AND ENGAGED BETWEEN THE BOTTOM WALL AND LOWER END OF A SIDE WALL OF SAID ONE CONTAINER, EACH SAID STEM PORTION BEING OF SUFFICIENT LENGTH SO AS TO SPACE THE BOTTOM WALL OF SAID OTHER CONTAINER FROM THE CONTENTS OF SAID ONE CONTAINER, SAID SPACE AND SAID AREA PROVIDING FOR READY REMOVAL OF THE CONTENTS OF SAID ONE CONTAINER. 